Sunday, May 5, 2013

Canadian
“snowbirds” could be able to spend more time – up to eight months from six months
now annually – in the sunny south if a provision in the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan
immigration reform becomes law.

Bill sponsor Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York
also wants to make it easier for Canadians owning at least $500,000 in U.S. property
to live year-round in America with a non-immigrant retiree visa.

The proposed Border Security, Economic Opportunity and Immigration
Modernization Act said the changes would encourage Canadian tourism and increase
economic growth.

With the hundreds of thousands of Canadians spending extended periods in
Florida, Arizona, California and Texas every year, it would be a boon to those
economies.

The Canadian Snowbirds Association, with 700,000 members, has been
lobbying for the changes as the maximum limit for stays now without a visa is
180 days in a 12-month period, said president Bob Slack.

Canadians who return home after six months away are unable to take
further trips across the border in that one-year period.